We use observations of OGLE-III ab-type RRLyrae stars towards the Galactic centre (Soszyński et al. 2011, AcA 6,1) to study the metallicity and 3D spatial distribution of the old and metal-poor component of the Galactic bulge. Metallicities and distances to the RRLyrae stars are derived photometrically from Fourier-component analyses of their light curves, allowing the determination of distances accurate to ~7% from 0 to 40 kpc. The distance distribution of the RRLyrae stars peaks at 8.8 kpc, with the data indicating the presence of a bar-like structure inclined at ~30° to the line of sight. The dataset also exhibits a secondary concentration of stars beyond the Galactic centre at ~27 kpc. This is consistent with the distance to the Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf galaxy, and can be attributed to the serendipitous alignment of the Sgr stream with the bulge. This dataset allows the Sgr stream to be traced in this part of the sky for the first time. The underlying metallicity distributions are determined to have mean ± intrinsic width of [Fe/H]bulge = −1.24±0.23 dex and [Fe/H]Sgr = −1.53±0.14 dex.

The status of DIB research (Herbig 1995) has strongly advanced since the DIB conference in Boulder in 1994. In the same year we reported the discovery of two near IR diffuse bands coincident with C60+, that was confirmed in subsequent years. Since then a number of DIB observational studies have been published such as DIB surveys, measurements of DIB families, correlations and environment dependences as well as DIBs in extra-galactic sources. Resolved substructures were measured and compared to predicted rotational contours of large molecules. Polarisation studies provided constraints on possible carrier molecules and upper limits. DIBs carriers have been linked with several classes of organic molecules observed in the interstellar medium, in particular to the UIR bands (assigned to PAHs), the Extended Red Emission (ERE) or the recently detected Anomalous Microwave Emission (AME, assigned to spinning dust). In particular fullerenes and PAHs have been proposed to explain some DIBs and specific molecules were searched for in DIB spectra. DIB carriers could be present in various dehydrogenation and ionization states. Experiments in the laboratory and in space contribute to our understanding of the photo-stability of possible DIB carriers. In summary, the status of DIB research in the last 20 years has strongly advanced. We review DIB observational results and their interpretation and introduce the relevant plenary discussion.

Binary stars possibly exists in most galaxies and star clusters. Their evolution can lead to significant change in stellar population studies. Binary star to fit group (BS2fit: ∞) has built up a binary star stellar population synthesis model and used it in a few works. This page is to introduce the model and its possible applications.

Using high resolution H-band spectra from first-year observations of the SDSS-III APOGEE survey, we have searched for the presence of Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIBs) towards several thousand stars and obtained ~7 000 robust detections spanning a broad range of Galactic environments. This represents the largest homogeneous sample of DIB systems in terms of both size and sky coverage, which can be used for various statistical studies. For example, we find the strength of the most prominent near-IR DIB (at 1.5723 μm) to be strongly correlated with line-of-sight dust extinction, and its apparent velocity appears to trace that of the Galactic CO emission. The ability to work at near-IR wavelengths allows us to probe lines of sight penetrating through the dusty disk of the Galaxy, spanning a range of about 8 magnitudes of extinction. This preliminary investigation illustrates how a large sample of DIBs can serve as a useful tool to probe the structure of the Galaxy and the chemistry of the interstellar medium.

The diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) have come to the fore as an important mystery. This paper presents the history of DIB discovery and research; their importance; a summary of their properties; constraints on proposed identifications; a survey of DIB papers (including graduate student's theses); and a web site that lists DIBs paper from 1922 to 2011 (to be extended to the present).

Equilibrium dynamical models are essential tools for extracting science from surveys of our Galaxy. We show how models can be tested with data from a survey before the survey's selection function has been determined. We illustrate the application of this method by presenting some results for the RAVE survey. We extend our published analytic distribution functions to include chemistry and fit the chosen functional form to a combination of the Geneva–Copenhagen survey (GCS) and a sample of G-dwarfs observed at z ~ 1.75 kpc by the SEGUE survey. By including solid dynamics we are able to predict the contribution that the thick disc/halo stars surveyed by SEGUE should make to the GCS survey. We show that the measured [Fe/H] distribution from the GCS includes many fewer stars at [Fe/H] < −0.6 than are predicted. The problem is more likely to lie in discordant abundance scales than with incorrect dynamics.

Rather than a summary of the conference, I present here an overview of the status of the field and our progress over the last two decades from the points of view of astronomy, molecular physics, spectroscopy, and astrochemistry. While at first sight, progress may seem slow, actually, we have made an important stride forward. We have recognized now that the problem is very complex and identifying the carriers of the Diffuse Interstellar Bands will require a concerted effort of astronomers, molecular physicists, spectroscopists, and astrochemists. While this is a daunting prospect, we have identified the tools that we need to make this happen.

We have performed a spectral analysis on 18 stars solar sibling candidate. We found that only one one of the candidateshas solar metallicity and at the same time might have an age comparable to that of the Sun.

Thermonuclear explosions from helium double-detonation sub-Chandrasekhar mass model have been considered as an alternative way for the production of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia). In this work, we systematically studied the helium double-detonation model, in which a carbon–oxygen white dwarf (CO WD) accumulates a helium layer from a non-degenerate helium star.

The LAMOST survey of the Galaxy, otherwise named LEGUE (LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration) started in October 2012. In this talk, I will give an overview of the science plan and the current status of the survey.

Three wide binary candidates that have been identified in the Large sky Area Multi-Object Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) pilot survey data are presented. All three consist of main sequence stars of relatively late spectral type.

We present a critical review of the construction of 3D model atmospheres with emphasis on modeling challenges. We discuss the basic physical processes which give rise to the effects which set 3D models apart from 1D standard models. We consider elemental abundances derived from molecular features, and the determination of the microturbulence with 3D models. The examples serve as illustration of the limitations inherent to 1D, however, also to 3D modeling. We find that 3D models can provide constraints on the microturbulence parameter, and predict substantial corrections for abundances derived from molecular species.

In this brief review of recent work relating the DIBs to other gas-phase constituents of the ISM, we explore correlations between DIB equivalent widths and the column densities of various atomic and molecular species, drawn from a large database constructed for that purpose. The tightness and slopes of the correlations can provide information on how the DIBs might be related to those species (physically, chemically, spatially) and on various properties of the DIB carriers. Deviations from the mean relationships can reveal dependences of DIB strengths on other parameters, regional variations in DIB behavior, and individual sight lines where unusual environmental conditions affect the DIBs. Variations in DIB profiles (e.g., wings, substructure) and relative strengths may be related to differences in physical conditions inferred from atomic and/or molecular absorption lines.

In this contribution I shall focus on the structure of the Galactic thin disk. The evolution of the thin disk and its chemical properties have been discussed in detail by T. Bensby's contribution in conjunction with the properties of the Galactic thick disk, and by L.Olivia in conjunction with the properties of the Galactic bulge. I will review and discuss the status of our understanding of three major topics, which have been the subject of intense research nowadays, after long years of silence: (1) the spiral structure of the Milky Way, (2) the size of the Galactic disk, and (3) the nature of the Local arm (Orion spur), where the Sun is immersed. The provisional conclusions of this discussion are that: (1) we still have quite a poor knowledge of the Milky Way spiral structure, and the main disagreements among various tracers are still to be settled; (2) the Galactic disk does clearly not have an obvious luminous cut-off at about 14 kpc from the Galactic center, and next generation Galactic models need to be updated in this respect, and (3) the Local arm is most probably an inter-arm structure, similar to what we see in several external spirals, like M 74. Finally, the impact of Gaia and LAMOST in this field will be briefly discussed as well.

The study of variable phenomena (periodic, irregular or transient) provides a unique way to acquire knowledge about objects in our Universe. Currently, we are going through a rapid expansion of time-domain astrophysics. One reason for this expansion is the technological developments materialised in small to medium size observational projects such as HAT, OGLE, Catalina, PTF and upcoming very large projects such as Gaia or LSST.

In this article, we are focusing on the ESA cornerstone mission Gaia. This spacecraft will provide astrometric, photometric and spectroscopic measurements for one billion stars. Among the existing and planned multi-epoch projects Gaia is unique because it will provide exquisite astrometric measurements for all objects it observes. We provide a brief overview of the literature concerning this mission and its expected contribution to variability studies.

MilkyWay@home is a volunteer computing project that allows people from every country in the world to volunteer their otherwise idle processors to Milky Way research. Currently, more than 25,000 people (150,000 since November 9, 2007) contribute about half a PetaFLOPS of computing power to our project. We currently run two types of applications: one application fits the spatial density profile of tidal streams using statistical photometric parallax, and the other application finds the N-body simulation parameters that produce tidal streams that best match the measured density profile of known tidal streams. The stream fitting application is well developed and is producing published results. The Sagittarius dwarf leading tidal tail has been fit, and the algorithm is currently running on the trailing tidal tail and bifurcated pieces. We will soon have a self-consistent model for the density of the smooth component of the stellar halo and the largest tidal streams. The N-body application has been implemented for fitting dwarf galaxy progenitor properties only, and is in the testing stages. We use an Earth-Mover Distance method to measure goodness-of-fit for density of stars along the tidal stream. We will add additional spatial dimensions as well as kinematic measures in a piecemeal fashion, with the eventual goal of fitting the orbit and parameters of the Milky Way potential (and thus the density distribution of dark matter) using multiple tidal streams.

The spectra of fullerenes C60 and C70, higher fullerenes C76, C78 and C84 and hydrogenated fullerenes (fulleranes) were studied in laboratory in the UV and in the visible spectral range and could be used for searching and recognizing these molecules in space. Furthermore, the radical cation spectra of all the mentioned fullerene series and also of a series of large and very large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were generated in the laboratory and studied in the near infrared spectral range.

Stellar yields are a key ingredient in chemical evolution models. Stars with masses as low as 0.9M⊙, which have an age less than that of our Galaxy at low metallicity, can contribute to the chemical evolution of elements. Stars less than about 8–10M⊙ experience recurrent mixing events that can significantly change the surface composition of the envelope. Evolved stars are observed with surface enrichment in carbon, nitrogen, fluorine, and heavy elements synthesized by the slow neutron capture process (the s-process). These stars release their nucleosynthesis products through stellar outflows or winds, in contrast to massive stars that explode as core-collapse supernovae. Here I review stellar yields for stars up to 10M⊙, including a brief discussion of their uncertainties and shortcomings. Finally, I discuss efforts by various groups to address these issues and to provide homogeneous yields for low and intermediate-mass stars covering a broad range of metallicities.

Chemical diversity among metal-poor stars in the old stellar components in the Milky Way (MW), namely the thick disk and stellar halo, provides clues to understanding the early chemodynamical evolution of our Galaxy. We present our results on a homogeneous chemical abundance analysis for nearby metal-poor stars likely belonging to the MW thick disk, inner and outer stellar halos. Abundances of alpha, sodium, iron-peak and neutron-capture elements in the sample stars have been estimated using high-resolution (R 50000) spectra obtained with the High Dispersion Spectrograph mounted on the Subaru Telescope. The derived abundances are used to examine differences and similarities in elemental abundance ratios among the kinematically defined thick disk, inner and outer halo subsamples in the metallicity range of −3.3 < [Fe/H] < −0.5. We show that, in the metallicity range of [Fe/H] < −2, the three subsamples are similar in most of the elemental abundances. On the other hand, in the higher metallicities, particularly in [Fe/H] > −1.5, the thick disk and the inner/outer halo subsamples show systematically different abundance ratios for some elements including alpha, sodium, zinc and europium. A modest difference in the sodium and zinc abundances between the inner- and outer halo subsamples is also identified. The observed distinct abundances of some elements among the three subsamples implies that their constituent stars originally formed in progenitor systems that have experienced different star formation and chemical enrichment histories.